Chennai: When government had not given any favorable response to medicos’ four days of protest, they have decided to go ‘fast unto death’ from Friday.

Since Monday, medicos have been protesting against the Union Health Ministry’s move to make a year’s service in rural areas compulsory for an MBBS degree.

Two second year MBBS students of Government Vellore Medical College (GVMC) were admitted to GVMC hospital after they fainted on the third day of fast.

G.S. Rajesh, president of the Students’ Council, GVMC, said they were not opposed to rural service, but only on the move to appoint MBBS graduates in rural areas on salary of Rs.8,000. There was no guarantee that job would be made permanent, and most students would have to repay their educational loans on completion of study, but with 8,000 Rs. salary, they won’t be sufficient to repay their loan and make a living.

Also, he said, with the one-year rural service, 29,500 doctors will be deprived of employment opportunities immediately and 40,000 junior doctors lose the chance of getting government jobs in another 10 years.

The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has made the proposal to extend the duration of MBBS course so to meet the demand of doctors in rural India.

A team led by Professor R Samba Siva Rao, Additional Director General of Ministry of Health and Family Welfare interacted with Mumbai based doctors, interns, parents and faculty member to know the response to the ideas of rural service.

But Maharashtra association of Resident Doctors with interns has condemned the idea.

The panel has toured many states capital and with more upcoming tours to judge the response on government suggestion to submit the report next month.

Professor Rao said, “Majority of them have agreed that doctors will work in rural areas during their five and a half year MBBS course, provided infrastructure is improved and the stipend is increased to Rs 8,000 from Rs 1,700. The idea is that they will work in community health centres and primary health centres for four months each and subsequently when they are offered government jobs they will not hesitate.”